Early last year, Miami-based Pensam Capital brought a 416-unit workforce property in the Chicago suburb of Naperville to market. However, bid-ask spreads were wide at the time.
“The seller elected not to transact and took it off market,” said Jerome Nichols, president of Standard Real Estate Investments, a real estate firm with offices in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
Later in the year, Pensam tried again, marketing the Haven on Long Grove at a lower price, according to Nichols. This time, Standard and Chicago-based private investment firm The Vistria Group acquired the property through an off-market transaction. The buyers assumed an existing, fixed-rate Fannie Mae mortgage serviced by M&T Bank.
CBRE Multifamily Executive Vice President John Jeager, who arranged the sale, had previously worked with Standard principals from their time running funds under CBRE Investment Management. That familiarity helped Standard secure the property.
“We worked with CBRE to determine what off-market assets that might fit our workforce housing strategy might be available and Haven at Long Grove rose to the top of the list,” Nichols said.
Strong fundamentals
The acquisition of the Haven on Long Grove property met Standard’s goal to preserve and improve workforce housing in good locations, according to Nichols.
Haven on Long Grove, which sits on 34 acres, is comprised of 248 one- and two-bedroom apartments and 168 townhomes. The townhomes offer attached garages and driveways, with some private fenced yards.
The property is near top-rated local schools, several job corridors, green spaces and retail and dining options.
Pensam had already completed a multimillion-dollar value-add program to the physical plant, common areas and most units at the property. “We inherited a turnkey asset and plan to continue to modernize select units as they roll over,” Nichols said.
Standard plans to continue to be active in pursuing institutional-quality workforce assets like the Haven at Long Grove that sit in high-cost, supply-constrained locations. “We are growing our direct operating platform in 2024, with a focus on workforce housing assets nationwide,” Nichols said.
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